Keep up with the postseason picture at MLB.com. Considerable uncertainty remains in the American League, as only the Orioles, Rangers, and Yankees have clinched postseason berths and none are guaranteed a first-place finish. The Senior Circuit is somewhat less chaotic: The Giants and Reds have won their divisions and the Braves and Nationals have earned trips to the playoffs.

The Orioles were heading from Baltimore to Tampa this evening for its three-game series with the Rays, but a fire on board the team plane has required the players and coaches to cool their heels in Jacksonville. According to WJZ.com, no injuries have been reported.

It might come as a surprise to Mets fans that R. A. Dickey’s teammates did more good than harm vis-à-vis the Cy Young candidate’s won-loss record. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Carl Bialik:

The Mets have struggled to play MLB-average baseball in many ways, including two that starting pitchers have little control over but help determine their won-loss record: hitting and relieving. Starters need to leave the game with their team in the lead, which means they need their teammates to score runs. Yet the Mets have averaged 4.08 runs per game, 0.16 runs lower than the NL average. Starters also need relievers to protect their leads or to keep the game close when they’ve left so the team’s hitters can stage a comeback. But the Mets bullpen has an ERA of 4.71, the highest in baseball, and has given up a whopping 5.18 runs per nine innings. . . .

The Mets bullpen also has summoned its best work for Dickey games. While relievers made Dickey’s last two wins extra-exciting by yielding ninth-inning home runs, he still won both games. In his 15 wins that weren’t complete games, Mets relievers gave up just 2.6 runs per nine innings, half their season rate. Eight times in Dickey wins they yielded no runs and just once, in win No. 20 on Thursday, did they give up more than a run.

The Indians canned skipper Manny Acta on Thursday. Anthony Witrado of The Sporting Newsfinds the decision defensible but adds that the front office also needs to be held accountable for the Tribe’s woes.

You may have heard that the AL MVP is between a player who may win the Triple Crown and a player who most (if not all) of the stathead-friendly sites say is the best player in the league this year. There have been a number of articles being written by veteran writers about how stupid WAR is–complaining it’s incomprehensible, stupid, meaningless, dumb, formulas are different, etc. etc. . . .

Now I’m painting the baseball media with a broad brush, but each of these types of articles gets my hackles up. I’m a fellow card-carrying-member of the BBWAA and one would think that I would be afforded some professional courtesy before having a stat we produce being berated in print.

Not a single member of the print media, the broadcast media or radio has reached out to me to learn more about WAR since this MVP controversy has erupted. Not one. . . .